Meg Training...Plan Z

**jkromelow** · 21st May 2007, 23:47

At first it appeared that the training was not going to happen. One shiny new Meg and two shiny new Evo’s were all waiting for their first dives. Catalina Island was ablaze and we were supposed to be on the ferry later in the day. There was no telling if or when we would be able to get to the island. There was no Plan B...

I felt lucky that my travels consisted of an 8-hour drive. I could easily head back and return to train another day. My fellow students did not have that option. They flew in from Alaska and Washington.

As luck would have it, our instructor Peter Den Haan is a resourceful man. As Peter put it at the time, we are now on Plan Z. In the course of a few hours Peter had made calls, shouted from the roof tops as loud as he could, sent smoke signals and prayed to the rebreather diving gods. All of this in an effort to unify the universe so we could be given a boat and good conditions...and learn to dive rebreathers.

As fortune would smile on us, this would turn out to be the kind of diving adventure you read about on a brochure and dream about for a future vacation.

As part of Plan Z, there was a boat leaving later that night from Santa Barbra headed out to the Channel Islands. We boarded the boat, stowed the gear and went below to catch some sleep before the boat reached the dive site at sunrise. At sunrise we were awakened by the smell of fresh coffee and bacon and eggs on the griddle: nothing like a good breakfast before a day of diving.

I was finally diving my Meg. Something I had been dreaming of for a long time. I always wondered if I would feel some kind of buyers’ remorse. You pay for it, hope it will be great and then feel let down because your expectations are so far removed from reality. I have to say that this was hardly the case! My new Meg was fabulous in every way. The fit, the finish, the feel – all exceeded my greatest expectations.

Then there was Peter. This was my first course with him. My previous interactions had been through email and on the telephone. I had wondered what his style would be like, what his demeanor would be like and how, as an instructor, he would react to the obliteration of all of the previous training plans?

Like my Meg, my experience with Peter Den Haan as an instructor exceeded my expectations. Peters level headed approach and vast knowledge turned the week into non-stop learning – the kind that doesn’t hurt your head. Every dive built skill and confidence. Every dive left me wanting to get back in the water.

It was time for the boat to return to Santa Barbra. While we had some great dives, the real question was what was next on our agenda. We had only been away 2 days and we had plenty more to go. We were hoping that the fire on Catalina would have subsided and we could return to the original plan. This was not to be.

As we regrouped at Starbucks to make our plans Peter was once again on the phone, praying to the gods...doing whatever it took to continue the plan. On to Ventura to get on a boat going to Anacapa...a boat called the Raptor. It is fortunate that all of our personalities are easy going and that we are focused on the truly important things in life...like rebreather diving. This allowed us to have the go with it attitude and take one step at a time.

We arrived in Ventura and boarded the boat. They saved us the aft section, with plenty of space for our gear. They were providing us with special consideration because we are rebreather divers. Oh, did I mention that the Divemaster on the boat is also a Meg diver? He was a former student of Peters. Usually I don’t care much about boats – they get you from point A to point B. The Raptor is different. We cruised to the dive site at 23 kts. The boat was stable roomy and laid out very well...and the food was great.

More diving...more skills...more cool stuff to check out. After a day of diving, we reconnoitered to ask ourselves the most important of soulful questions, “Where to next?” We were not sure of Catalina Island was open yet. Peter got on the phone, yelled from the rooftop, sent some smoke signals and prayed to the diving gods once again. We’re in luck, Catalina Island is open.

We drove from Ventura to Long Beach to catch the ferry. When we arrived at Catalina Island I was surprised that it looked so good given the reports of the fire. The fire was predominately on the other side of the Island. We were among the few tourists on the Island...thats the way you want to do Catalina. We spent several days diving off of Casino point. We had the place to ourselves. More drills...more diving...and more fun.

For all of the years I have been diving in Southern California I have always been looking to see a Black Sea Bass. I had seen pictures of the huge fish, but never had a first hand encounter. For me, the highlight of the trip was the encounter with the Black Sea Bass. When we filled our tanks at the LDS and asked about Black Sea Bass, we were told that there had not been any sightings so far this season. Peter knew that if they were there on the Island they would be at a certain depth and in a certain area. Behold...there it was! Right were Peter thought it would be.

It was an amazing feeling, perfectly hovering, perfectly trimmed out, absolutely silent and just staring at this great creature. All of the forces that be were in perfect alignment!

What started as an oh Sh*t maybe we cant go diving, turned out to be a phenomenal diving adventure. We were able to visit the some of the best dive sites on the West coast. While most people usually do a single trip to each site, we were able to do them all in one trip. You could not even plan a trip like this!

Peter’s tenacity was a critical part in making it all happen. I highly recommend him as an instructor and can tell you he has a bunch of great dive sites and operators at his disposal. His teaching style and expertise created a great environment to learn and refine rebreather diving. I am looking forward to more training with Peter.

I AM A MEG DIVER!

mattwave · 22nd May 2007, 05:24

I heard there was some very cool video too.
Black Bass; WOW!

**jkromelow** · 22nd May 2007, 07:00

Quote: (Originally Posted by mattwave)

I heard there was some very cool video too.
Black Bass; WOW!

Word travels fast! Great video shot in HD. Got to give it to the cameraman for fighting the currents with the big rig. Maybe some clips will end up on myspace?

pattimegdiver · 22nd May 2007, 09:20

Great report, and welcome to the meg family. Maybe one of these days I will be able to make it to California to make some of those dives. Does Peter set up the dive trips or was it just for your instruction class?

scuba_phil · 31st May 2007, 15:14

Justin,
Congrats on your new Meg. I did my Meg training with Peter in May at Catalina. He had all sorts of chalanges with the weather and the other student in my class (used inspiration with lots of mods and the student had limited skills). All in all, I was very pleased with the training. If your ever down in the LA area, look me up and we can do some diving.

Phil

**jkromelow** · 31st July 2007, 19:41

Here is a video from the dives on Catalina Island. Enjoy!

YouTube - Casino Point Rebreather Diving

21st May 2007, 23:47	#1 (permalink)
jkromelow PreNarked Current Rebreather/s: Megalodon Dolphin Home Build Other Rebreather/s: Dolphin Home Build Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: San Francisco, CA, USA Posts: 59	Meg Training...Plan Z At first it appeared that the training was not going to happen. One shiny new Meg and two shiny new Evo’s were all waiting for their first dives. Catalina Island was ablaze and we were supposed to be on the ferry later in the day. There was no telling if or when we would be able to get to the island. There was no Plan B... I felt lucky that my travels consisted of an 8-hour drive. I could easily head back and return to train another day. My fellow students did not have that option. They flew in from Alaska and Washington. As luck would have it, our instructor Peter Den Haan is a resourceful man. As Peter put it at the time, we are now on Plan Z. In the course of a few hours Peter had made calls, shouted from the roof tops as loud as he could, sent smoke signals and prayed to the rebreather diving gods. All of this in an effort to unify the universe so we could be given a boat and good conditions...and learn to dive rebreathers. As fortune would smile on us, this would turn out to be the kind of diving adventure you read about on a brochure and dream about for a future vacation. As part of Plan Z, there was a boat leaving later that night from Santa Barbra headed out to the Channel Islands. We boarded the boat, stowed the gear and went below to catch some sleep before the boat reached the dive site at sunrise. At sunrise we were awakened by the smell of fresh coffee and bacon and eggs on the griddle: nothing like a good breakfast before a day of diving. I was finally diving my Meg. Something I had been dreaming of for a long time. I always wondered if I would feel some kind of buyers’ remorse. You pay for it, hope it will be great and then feel let down because your expectations are so far removed from reality. I have to say that this was hardly the case! My new Meg was fabulous in every way. The fit, the finish, the feel – all exceeded my greatest expectations. Then there was Peter. This was my first course with him. My previous interactions had been through email and on the telephone. I had wondered what his style would be like, what his demeanor would be like and how, as an instructor, he would react to the obliteration of all of the previous training plans? Like my Meg, my experience with Peter Den Haan as an instructor exceeded my expectations. Peters level headed approach and vast knowledge turned the week into non-stop learning – the kind that doesn’t hurt your head. Every dive built skill and confidence. Every dive left me wanting to get back in the water. It was time for the boat to return to Santa Barbra. While we had some great dives, the real question was what was next on our agenda. We had only been away 2 days and we had plenty more to go. We were hoping that the fire on Catalina would have subsided and we could return to the original plan. This was not to be. As we regrouped at Starbucks to make our plans Peter was once again on the phone, praying to the gods...doing whatever it took to continue the plan. On to Ventura to get on a boat going to Anacapa...a boat called the Raptor. It is fortunate that all of our personalities are easy going and that we are focused on the truly important things in life...like rebreather diving. This allowed us to have the go with it attitude and take one step at a time. We arrived in Ventura and boarded the boat. They saved us the aft section, with plenty of space for our gear. They were providing us with special consideration because we are rebreather divers. Oh, did I mention that the Divemaster on the boat is also a Meg diver? He was a former student of Peters. Usually I don’t care much about boats – they get you from point A to point B. The Raptor is different. We cruised to the dive site at 23 kts. The boat was stable roomy and laid out very well...and the food was great. More diving...more skills...more cool stuff to check out. After a day of diving, we reconnoitered to ask ourselves the most important of soulful questions, “Where to next?” We were not sure of Catalina Island was open yet. Peter got on the phone, yelled from the rooftop, sent some smoke signals and prayed to the diving gods once again. We’re in luck, Catalina Island is open. We drove from Ventura to Long Beach to catch the ferry. When we arrived at Catalina Island I was surprised that it looked so good given the reports of the fire. The fire was predominately on the other side of the Island. We were among the few tourists on the Island...thats the way you want to do Catalina. We spent several days diving off of Casino point. We had the place to ourselves. More drills...more diving...and more fun. For all of the years I have been diving in Southern California I have always been looking to see a Black Sea Bass. I had seen pictures of the huge fish, but never had a first hand encounter. For me, the highlight of the trip was the encounter with the Black Sea Bass. When we filled our tanks at the LDS and asked about Black Sea Bass, we were told that there had not been any sightings so far this season. Peter knew that if they were there on the Island they would be at a certain depth and in a certain area. Behold...there it was! Right were Peter thought it would be. It was an amazing feeling, perfectly hovering, perfectly trimmed out, absolutely silent and just staring at this great creature. All of the forces that be were in perfect alignment! What started as an oh Sh*t maybe we cant go diving, turned out to be a phenomenal diving adventure. We were able to visit the some of the best dive sites on the West coast. While most people usually do a single trip to each site, we were able to do them all in one trip. You could not even plan a trip like this! Peter’s tenacity was a critical part in making it all happen. I highly recommend him as an instructor and can tell you he has a bunch of great dive sites and operators at his disposal. His teaching style and expertise created a great environment to learn and refine rebreather diving. I am looking forward to more training with Peter. I AM A MEG DIVER! __________________ Justin Kromelow TDI Instructor PADI MSDT
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22nd May 2007, 05:24	#2 (permalink)
mattwave New Member Current Rebreather/s: Evolution Other Rebreather/s: Inspiration Classic Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Seattle Posts: 47	Re: Meg Training...Plan Z I heard there was some very cool video too. Black Bass; WOW! __________________ "Scuba like you love it"
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22nd May 2007, 07:00	#3 (permalink)
jkromelow PreNarked Current Rebreather/s: Megalodon Dolphin Home Build Other Rebreather/s: Dolphin Home Build Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: San Francisco, CA, USA Posts: 59	Re: Meg Training...Plan Z Quote: (Originally Posted by mattwave) I heard there was some very cool video too. Black Bass; WOW! Word travels fast! Great video shot in HD. Got to give it to the cameraman for fighting the currents with the big rig. Maybe some clips will end up on myspace? __________________ Justin Kromelow TDI Instructor PADI MSDT
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22nd May 2007, 09:20	#4 (permalink)
pattimegdiver RBW Member Current Rebreather/s: Megalodon Sport Kiss Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Portland Oregon Posts: 307	Re: Meg Training...Plan Z Great report, and welcome to the meg family. Maybe one of these days I will be able to make it to California to make some of those dives. Does Peter set up the dive trips or was it just for your instruction class? __________________ Patti Meg Diver Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk
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31st May 2007, 15:14	#5 (permalink)
scuba_phil New Member Current Rebreather/s: Megalodon Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Orange County, CA Posts: 28	Re: Meg Training...Plan Z Justin, Congrats on your new Meg. I did my Meg training with Peter in May at Catalina. He had all sorts of chalanges with the weather and the other student in my class (used inspiration with lots of mods and the student had limited skills). All in all, I was very pleased with the training. If your ever down in the LA area, look me up and we can do some diving. Phil
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